Jaguars hoping for superhuman recovery from former No. 1 pick

The Jacksonville Jaguars are 3-1 and have won two in a row under new head coach Liam Coen. Their defense is averaging 18 points given up per game, which is among the best marks in the NFL. In fact, the Jags have the fifth-best defense in the NFL in that category.

The tricky thing for Jacksonville is that up next on the schedule is Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, who need no introduction. The 2-2 Chiefs may be on the "back nine" of their legacy years, but this is still Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid we're talking about.

Especially on "Monday Night Football," the Chiefs will be ready to put up some points.

To make matters even tougher for Jacksonville, star defensive end Travon Walker may not be able to play in the game. Walker was injured in Jacksonville's win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday and had to undergo wrist surgery on Monday.

Walker may still suit up for the Jaguars in Week 5

That's the bad news. The good news is that Walker is apparently tough as nails, because Coen revealed on Thursday that there is a chance he could play on Monday night.

"He will be listed as day-to-day," Coen said, according to Michael DiRocco of ESPN.

Keep in mind, this is not a minor thing. Walker was able to play just a handful of snaps on Sunday after suffering the injury, and he had to see a specialist and ultimately go under the knife to fix the problem. For most normal humans, playing in the NFL a week later simply wouldn't be an option. Walker is clearly superhuman, though.

"He's going to try to do everything in his power," Coen said, according to Juston Lewis of "the Jacksonville Florida Times-Union". "He just cares so much. He was one of the first guys I saw before I got in the locker room on Sunday, congratulating the guys."

Walker is undoubtedly a cornerstone piece for the Jaguars. They selected him with the first overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Georgia and he notched 10 sacks in 2023 and 10.5 sacks in 2024.

He has two sacks so far this season, so you can bet he'll be itching to get back into action by the time "Monday Night Football" rolls around.